2018 British Grand Prix – Qualifying

MERCEDES DRIVER LEWIS HAMILTON TAKES POLE POSITION ON SOFT TYRE AND BEATS HIS OWN TRACK RECORD

HIGH TRACK TEMPERATURES PEAK AT MORE THAN 40 DEGREES CENTIGRADE

A ONE-STOPPER IS THE QUICKEST STRATEGY FOR TOMORROW’S RACE, DEPENDING ON SOFT TYRE DEGRADATION RATES

Silverstone, July 7, 2018 – Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set pole position for his home grand prix, earning the Pirelli Pole Position Award from a driver close to his heart: Billy Monger, the British teenager who lost his legs in a fearsome Formula 4 accident last year, but bounced back to finish on the podium in his comeback race.

Hamilton set his pole time on the soft tyre, which was used throughout most of qualifying by all the drivers. In doing so, he beat his own track record from last year.

Track temperatures peaked at more than 40 degrees centigrade in qualifying, with 27 degrees ambient. Similar conditions are expected for the race tomorrow, which gets underway just after 2pm. A one-stop strategy, which won the race last year, is theoretically fastest.

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING

“Again we had unusually warm track temperatures today, with the drivers able to use their experience of similar conditions yesterday. With the soft tyre being approximately a second per lap faster than any other compound, we saw everyone using this in Q2, with no drivers trying a harder compound to start the grand prix as has been the case in recent races. The degradation rate of the soft tyre will determine the strategy tomorrow. A one-stop strategy is theoretically quickest, but if high degradation is encountered on the soft – a distinct possibility in these warm conditions – a two-stop strategy would be better. As we could see throughout qualifying, the gap between the top teams is very close, so strategy might make the difference; especially as there could be a reasonably wide pit stop window.”

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